The Biden Presidency Thread

[malchior]

Inflation fallen to pre-pandemic levels? That is not what CNBC tells me every weekday and not what my I Bonds are paying on. It does have many opiners telling me to expect 3-5 rate drops in 2024 which will be anticipatory of inflation nearing pre-pandemic levels and Powell giving an outlook that seems to support them.[

First thing I could find but it only goes to November and I know they just had another report but I can't find it anywhere.

It's statistically unclear. If you were just looking at Year-over-Year it's simply not true. However...if you double-click from Year-over-Year to Month-over-Month you have a string of a few months that indicates inflation is going to settle out at about target 2%-ish within the next 3-6 months YoY. In other words, you can sort of make the case the statement *might* be true but it's shaky. However, inflation is the big issue so they likely calculate they can't ignore it in the messaging. My guess is they just chose to spin the shaky case out because it's probably true and won't blow up in their face.

How hard is it to be honest about the now, with a good prognosis about where we're headed and why? Inflation is a lagging indicator and it's doing well and trending in the right direction in no small part because of government intervention at the federal level led by current presidency and the trends are not causing sharp rises in unemployment. How hard is that?

They need to be careful about claiming much on inflation other than the vaguest nod to headline rates. Almost all policy is controlled and inflation ultimately moderated by Fed action. Biden had nearly zilch to do with it. They can argue his economic platform helped with jobs numbers hand-in-hand with Fed action to protect jobs as the Feds monetary policy worked the hot spots out of the general economy. Anything more will get into iffy territory.

[Kraken]

Fact is Biden's economy, despite facing strong headwinds, is doing better than just fine after reversing 40 years of supply side economics. That alone is a huge achievement. One hopes that voters start to internalize it, because the economy is Biden's lowest popular rating.

I agree that Democrats should be careful to stick to facts since their opponent only ever sticks it to facts. Does anyone even bother fact-checking trump anymore?

[malchior]

There was an update tonight that sounds like an attempt to explain but ultimately invites more scrutiny in the Austin hospitalization affair. Tonight we hear that the administration wasn't notified that Austin was in the hospital because his Chief of Staff...was also out sick. That COS has an aide. Austin has an entire support team. I don't know if this explanation was a slip up with the truth or just a miscalculation of a story. It probably didn't help at all.

And today we now hear the White House isn't even "considering" firing him. Not doing it is one thing but not considering it? Come on. And people wonder why folks don't approve of this administration. This was a major, major fuck up and they are full on sweeping it under the rug. Unacceptable.

https://twitter.com/jeffmason1/status/1 ... 5035295876

[Zarathud]

Why must everything be an extreme overreaction? The only reason to demand his firing is to cause chaos by forcing Biden to submit another nominee to approval by the Senate. And turn a short absence into a longer one.

[malchior]

Why must everything be an extreme overreaction?

*Considering* firing the SecDef in these circumstances is an extreme overreaction?

The only reason to demand his firing is to cause chaos by forcing Biden to submit another nominee to approval by the Senate. And turn a short absence into a longer one.

The only reason? How about basic accountability? Good governance? This was a serious incident. Unfortunately, the way the WH is papering over this gives the Republicans avenues of legitimate criticism about the candor and confidence in the administration.

[Unagi]

I'm probably wrong, but this just doesn't seem that enormous of a deal to me.

If this happened while Trump or Bush was president, I honestly don't think I would have made a big stink about it then.

[Daehawk]

If history is any indication then Biden, a democrat, will help right things then a Republican will get elected and claim it was all him then screw it all up. Then a Dem will get elected and be blamed for all the troubles all the while starting to fix what the Rep screwed up..ad nauseam.

[Smoove_B]

I think as a general rule, if you're part of the line of succession for the office of the President of the United States, there should be clear communication at all levels if you're undergoing surgery and/or going to be incapacitated as a result of a medical procedure.

I do think this is likely a offense where firing would be justified because it really does make the administration look bad; it's embarrassing. On top of that, there are active military engagement happening. While I wouldn't expect him to be directly involved in decision making regarding events in Ukraine or Gaza, the idea that he wouldn't be available to monitor and advise as necessary is a bit troubling.

All that said, I also agree that trying to replace him right now would be a circus as it would require another confirmation hearing and a vote (I think). I don't know much, but the last thing I'd want to do right now is send anything over to Congress knowing their approval is needed to fill a position. The only thing worse than not communicating for 5 days that you're in a hospital is having a position empty and open because Congress is dysfunctional.

So yeah, overall it makes the Biden administration look bad and there's no responsible way to address it other than to hope whatever happens next takes attention away from this.

[Unagi]

Okay, I see what my brain was overlooking.

I missed that he basically hid his absence & elective surgery from the administration - I guess I thought that they just missed some OOO email, and were caught not knowing where he was.

Yeah, that's boneheaded enough to want to replace him, but I agree that to do so would be folly. Remarkable that it can even happen.

[malchior]

There are some practical issues that really drive much of the criticism. A major issue is the nuclear chain of command. SecDef is responsible for verifying an attack order from the President. The worst case being an attack was ordered and they were scrambling to find him while minutes mattered.

Also, many strike and combat authorizations channel through the Secretary of Defense. It appears Hicks (his deputy) took over in part but even she wasn't apprised of his status. Which talks to a dysfunctional staff organization. There are some real issues in there if you want to step beyond partisan bluster.

While I wouldn't expect him to be directly involved in decision making regarding events in Ukraine or Gaza, the idea that he wouldn't be available to monitor and advise as necessary is a bit troubling.

FWIW the President or Secretary of Defense authorize missions on some occasions - well technically they approve everything - but sometimes they have already "pre-approved" such as the strike in Baghdad last week which was apparently unaffected.

[Blackhawk]

"Not considering" is present tense. It doesn't necessarily mean that it wasn't considered and rejected.

Yeah, it was a serious screw up at multiple levels, it looks terrible, and the timing sucks. But today's politics require a degree of pragmatism.

[malchior]

"Not considering" is present tense. It doesn't necessarily mean that it wasn't considered and rejected.

If it was rejected, I'd want to know how it was decided before a proper investigation. I doubt it could be done in a few days. I used to be in charge of investigations for a public corporation and they take time. If any of the C-suite had done anything like this there would absolutely be an investigation (for various reasons).

[El Guapo]

Is there any reason why Austin would want to keep his surgery secret from the rest of the administration? Or was he just being stupid?

[hepcat]

You don't just show up one day with a bigger caboose and not expect some level of embarrassing comment, I would imagine.

[malchior]

Is there any reason why Austin would want to keep his surgery secret from the rest of the administration? Or was he just being stupid?

By all accounts he is a very private person. He's famous for avoiding publicity, reporters, etc. Which is all fine. That's all side story. Heck, he didn't even need to disclose the surgery at all. He just needed to disclose to the relevant parties that *he was unavailable to perform his vital national security duties* for some period of time.

[Blackhawk]

"Not considering" is present tense. It doesn't necessarily mean that it wasn't considered and rejected.

If it was rejected, I'd want to know how it was decided before a proper investigation.

Possibly because it was decided based on the circus that firing him would cause.

[Grifman]

Fact is Biden's economy, despite facing strong headwinds, is doing better than just fine after reversing 40 years of supply side economics. That alone is a huge achievement. One hopes that voters start to internalize it, because the economy is Biden's lowest popular rating.

I agree that Democrats should be careful to stick to facts since their opponent only ever sticks it to facts. Does anyone even bother fact-checking trump anymore?

There's a huge disconnect in public perception and reality on the economy. I read a poll the other day that said on a personal level, 57% said that they were doing good/well financially, yet more than 50% think the economy has been bad under Biden. Even with inflation, real incomes are up over the last 4 years, and those at the lower end of the economic scale have seen the largest increases in real income. Employment is booming, the stock market is up. Even gas prices are dropping. The only bad thing now are high mortgage rates. The public just seems to want to be in bad mood for whatever reason.

[LordMortis]

There's a huge disconnect in public perception and reality on the economy. I read a poll the other day that said on a personal level, 57% said that they were doing good/well financially, yet more than 50% think the economy has been bad under Biden. Even with inflation, real incomes are up over the last 4 years, and those at the lower end of the economic scale have seen the largest increases in real income. Employment is booming, the stock market is up. Even gas prices are dropping. The only bad thing now are high mortgage rates. The public just seems to want to be in bad mood for whatever reason.

This and they get plenty of encouragement and all of the blame goes to Biden. I don't get it. And I've stopped listening the the people who tell me how bad it is. Especially, when they acknowledge "they can't complain."

Food is a tough one, though, and it's not going back. I have to adjust and I'm not there yet. It's hard to do with no increasing income and food inflation is ever present. My head still can't comprehend how fast everything went up and I have to comparison shop before I go shopping now, to know what current prices are. Yay Internet!

[Unagi]

Fact is Biden's economy, despite facing strong headwinds, is doing better than just fine after reversing 40 years of supply side economics. That alone is a huge achievement. One hopes that voters start to internalize it, because the economy is Biden's lowest popular rating.

I agree that Democrats should be careful to stick to facts since their opponent only ever sticks it to facts. Does anyone even bother fact-checking trump anymore?

There's a huge disconnect in public perception and reality on the economy. I read a poll the other day that said on a personal level, 57% said that they were doing good/well financially, yet more than 50% think the economy has been bad under Biden. Even with inflation, real incomes are up over the last 4 years, and those at the lower end of the economic scale have seen the largest increases in real income. Employment is booming, the stock market is up. Even gas prices are dropping. The only bad thing now are high mortgage rates. The public just seems to want to be in bad mood for whatever reason.

Also, I think 'the economy' is such an easy pseudo-intellectual hide-out (that just about all of us have only a very tenuous understanding of) that it allows people to use it in any way they see fit. "The economy is poor" is like "People are saying" - it's not something anyone can immediately counter and it's just a way of someone saying "I just feel this way".

The idea that Kraken mentioned: the hope that voters start to internalize Biden's good deads about our economy, is putting the cart before the horse - I believe... Voters will only internalize that the economy is doing well if they are looking for ways to defend their internal need for Trump to be kept out of office. It won't happen the other way around.

[malchior]

WaPo

The lack of integrity and transparency here is unacceptable. The story has evolved to show that multiple officials knew of his hospitalization. They won't tell us if he was incapacitated at any time including the original surgery - which we now know involved an overnight stay (again in secret) on December 22. They won't tell us if he ordered secrecy. They won't answer basic questions. This is not what any of us should have expected out of the Biden administration. It's a total mess.

I concede they are likely bowing to election year pressures but they are making the situation worse. Austin has a right to privacy for sure but it is in tension with his vital national security role and they need to figure out how not to make this into a big scandal. Which so far they are failing at.

Edit: I forgot to point out that Austin's office is planning to investigate this within his own office. Completely unacceptable. This needs to be independently assessed. They've badly, badly breached the public trust. They are trying to sweep this under the rug and there is little chance that will succeed with blood in the water. My strong hunch is this will either lead to a resignation or leaks of details that'll lead to a resignation.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, whose failure to disclose his need for emergency hospitalization has ignited a firestorm, was moved out of intensive care on Monday, as Democrats and Republicans intensified their calls for accountability, and senior officials at the White House and Pentagon struggled to defuse the uproar.

Austin, 70, remains under doctors’ supervision at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland. He was taken there by ambulance Jan. 1, while in “severe pain” with undisclosed complications from a Dec. 22 medical procedure that included an overnight stay, administration officials said.

But their halting explanation of the situation, and Austin’s lack of transparency about what led to his health crisis, have only amplified the scrutiny following revelations that Austin’s senior staff declined to disclose the issue to the White House for days. The Pentagon said Monday night that it remains unclear when he may be released but that officials intend to provide daily updates so long as he remains at Walter Reed.

...

Critics, including political allies, have chastised the administration for its secrecy surrounding Austin’s medical situation, with many noting the calamity that could have occurred with the United States actively, if indirectly, involved in two wars and the recent rise in attacks on U.S. forces deployed in the Middle East. Internally, some frustrated officials have complained, too, saying the handling of the incident showed “unbelievably bad judgment” on Austin’s part.

Officials in the White House and the Pentagon vowed Monday to review the lapses in communication that led to the imbroglio, but they declined again to reveal many basic details about the situation — including whether Austin was ever incapacitated and what prompted the extended hospital stay. Austin resumed his duties on Friday night from Walter Reed, Pentagon officials said.

...

At the Pentagon, meanwhile, Ryder acknowledged during an hour-long back-and-forth with reporters that he first learned of Austin’s hospitalization Jan. 2, two days before that information was transmitted to the National Security Council and three days before it was disclosed to Congress and the public. A handful of other Defense Department officials, including Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Kelly Magsamen, Austin’s chief of staff; and Lt. Gen. Ronald Clark, Austin’s senior military assistant; also were apprised of the secretary’s medical situation before the White House was made aware.

Still, no one at the Pentagon notified Congress or Austin’s No. 2, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, even after Hicks assumed some of Austin’s duties during a previously planned vacation to Puerto Rico, Pentagon officials said. Ryder blamed the breakdown on Magsamen having contracted the flu, requiring her to miss work. It remains unclear whether Magsamen delegated any responsibilities to subordinates while she was ill. Ryder said it was the chief of staff who ultimately notified Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, at the White House on Jan. 4.

Ryder offered no explanation for why another Pentagon official did not notify the White House sooner, despite the Defense Department’s culture of bestowing responsibility for key duties to multiple personnel or offices to avoid gaps in decision-making. Asked if Austin directed any of his staff to withhold information, Ryder answered indirectly, saying “that is one of the things we’ll be looking at in terms of process improvements.”

...

Ryder said Austin’s office will review its actions, and that “no one has more interest in making sure that we can learn from this.” Asked why the matter has not been referred to the Defense Department inspector general’s office for an independent review, he declined to speculate.

[waitingtoconnect]

Okay, I see what my brain was overlooking.

I missed that he basically hid his absence & elective surgery from the administration - I guess I thought that they just missed some OOO email, and were caught not knowing where he was.

Yeah, that's boneheaded enough to want to replace him, but I agree that to do so would be folly. Remarkable that it can even happen.

On my clearance for government work I have to inform of any significant medical changes in order to be allowed to keep it and stay employed.

It’s a firable offense. And he must go.

And in a broader sense you have to start to ask are the democrats really any better at running the country than the republicans?

[LordMortis]

And in a broader sense you have to start to ask are the democrats really any better at running the country than the republicans?

We should never stop asking that, and for that last 15 years at least, the answer has been "yes" to one decree or another, as sad as that may be.

[waitingtoconnect]

And in a broader sense you have to start to ask are the democrats really any better at running the country than the republicans?

We should never stop asking that, and for that last 15 years at least, the answer has been "yes" to one decree or another, as sad as that may be.

I just hope that if the democrats do get as bad as trump and maga that a third way is seen as viable. Too many vote for the party now and not the candidate.

[Grifman]

And in a broader sense you have to start to ask are the democrats really any better at running the country than the republicans?

Lord have mercy, it's not even close. I'm not sure how anyone can even ask this question. This is the closest thing to any kind of "scandal" we've seen in 3 year of Biden, it doesn't even come close to Trump's administration continual incompetence, and complete merry-go-round of cabinet members and crucial administration officials such as Chief of Staff and Press Secretary. Hell, Trump appointed a radio talk host as Chief Scientist of the Department of Agriculture, for heaven's sake. There's no comparison.

[YellowKing]

Yeah I was about to jump in here and state essentially what Grifman was saying.

This falls so low on my measure of Presidential competence I can barely muster the energy to sit upright in my seat. Should it be addressed? Absolutely. But this is barely a parking ticket compared to the incompetence we've seen from the other side.

And I know the retort: "But we should expect better of Biden, that's why we're holding him accountable!" That's fine, hold him accountable. just don't burn him at the stake only to find what you're left at the end of it is four more years of Trump.

Trump's entire Presidency conditioned us to accept his scandal because it was literally a daily occurrence and there was no way to process the rate of his fuck ups. And when you start to normalize the slip-ups of the bad actors, you tend to over-respond to the slip-ups of the good actors. I've seen management do it time and time again at work.

[Carpet_pissr]

Slip ups and incompetence?! Those things were the least of the dangers of Trump IMO. I'm much less worried about that than his intentional goals like, oh I dunno, turning over the election. Blackmailing a foreign entity to find dirt on a political opponent. Accepting millions of dollars from hostile foreign governments (mostly China) to his businesses. Won't even go into the sexual assaults, daily (hourly?) lying and bullshit conspiracies he spread intentionally, dangerous COVID "advice", the whole Georgia (and other states) AG calls, inciting insurection, politicization of the DOJ at levels not seen since Nixon (investigating and harassing political opponents while protecting himself and his cronies), obstruction of Mueller investigation, the Steve Bannon pardon (among others), literal fucking loyalty oaths (that are caught on camera during mulltiple meetings), the whole Vindman firing, ummm, what else...

[Unagi]

Yes. Without exaggeration or hyperbole, this is like “an individual day under Trump”.
No comparison, imo.

[Zarathud]

This is the very definition of a tempest in a teapot. It’s only a scandal if you’re looking for an offense.

If Trump has his way in appeals court, President Biden could literally have withdrawn the Secretary of Defense from life support during his hospitalization with no consequences. The standard applied to Biden is shockingly harsh in over-correcting and over-looking Trump.

There will be an administrative review and process improvement, no doubt. But let the Deep State bureaucracy grind through the process.

[malchior]

Latest update

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is being treated for prostate cancer and suffered complications that led to him being taken to hospital on New Year’s Day where he is still being treated, according to a statement Tuesday from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

The statement revealed that the cancer was discovered in early December. He underwent a “minimally invasive surgical procedure” on December 22 called a prostatectomy to treat the cancer.

“He was under general anesthesia during this procedure. Secretary Austin recovered uneventfully from his surgery and returned home the next morning. His prostate cancer was detected early, and his prognosis is excellent,” the statement read.

If you have been tracking this absolute shit show of an event, they described his surgery as "elective". Turns out he has prostate cancer. He was under anesthesia on December 22nd. We don't know if he properly notified people to cover for him while he was out. Edit: The reporting is power was transferred while he was in surgery. But that's beyond the point because they've been misleading us.

I don't care if this 'isn't so bad' in relative terms. That is the problem with the decadence we are seeing. This would have been a major scandal anytime before our government just started falling to pieces.

Ultimately it's disappointing that this we SIMPLY CAN NOT TRUST our nation's leaders. I heard people over and over talking about how honorable he is and how it was remarkable how he took responsibility. I'd love to ask those sycophants what they think now.

Something is just wrong with our leadership culture. It's broken. This is utterly ridiculous behavior. In years past he would have quietly retired or prepared for a transition. Now? Just lie through it and hope no one notices.

[malchior]

This is the very definition of a tempest in a teapot. It’s only a scandal if you’re looking for an offense.

If Trump has his way in appeals court, President Biden could literally have withdrawn the Secretary of Defense from life support during his hospitalization with no consequences. The standard applied to Biden is shockingly harsh in over-correcting and over-looking Trump.

There will be an administrative review and process improvement, no doubt. But let the Deep State bureaucracy grind through the process.

This aged poorly.

But on Tuesday, the Pentagon revealed that Austin had kept the reason for his hospitalization – the cancer diagnosis and the complications arising from his treatment – secret, not just from senior figures at the Pentagon, but Biden himself, raising huge questions about transparency and communications within the administration.

[Grifman]

Latest update

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is being treated for prostate cancer and suffered complications that led to him being taken to hospital on New Year’s Day where he is still being treated, according to a statement Tuesday from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

The statement revealed that the cancer was discovered in early December. He underwent a “minimally invasive surgical procedure” on December 22 called a prostatectomy to treat the cancer.

“He was under general anesthesia during this procedure. Secretary Austin recovered uneventfully from his surgery and returned home the next morning. His prostate cancer was detected early, and his prognosis is excellent,” the statement read.

If you have been tracking this absolute shit show of an event, they described his surgery as "elective". Turns out he has prostate cancer. He was under anesthesia on December 22nd. We don't know if he properly notified people to cover for him while he was out. Edit: The reporting is power was transferred while he was in surgery. But that's beyond the point because they've been misleading us.

I don't care if this 'isn't so bad' in relative terms. That is the problem with the decadence we are seeing. This would have been a major scandal anytime before our government just started falling to pieces.

Ultimately it's disappointing that this we SIMPLY CAN NOT TRUST our nation's leaders. I heard people over and over talking about how honorable he is and how it was remarkable how he took responsibility. I'd love to ask those sycophants what they think now.

Something is just wrong with our leadership culture. It's broken. This is utterly ridiculous behavior. In years past he would have quietly retired or prepared for a transition. Now? Just lie through it and hope no one notices.

Every administration has problems. People are human, if you are expecting a President who doesn't have any issues arise during his time in office, well you are going to wait a long long time. Yes, this was wrong, and the onus falls entirely on Austin, because he was the one calling the shots on his medical condition, medical issues are subject to a lot of privacy by law, and if he doesn't tell anyone what is going on, then it's on him 100%. A lot of what we are learning, from what I have heard, we are learning only a few hours after Biden has found out. That's how much Austin kept everyone in the dark, even his own people. Now we will learn from this and rules will be put into place going forward.

But to say that the leadership culture is "broken" is just not realistic or even historically accurate. EVERY administration has it's scandals and issues and mistakes, because people are just human, and oftentimes do bad and/or stupid things. Of course, we want to minimize this kind of stuff, but no matter how many rules you have, people are sometimes to ignore them, forget about them, misunderstand them, and break them. The better question is how does the Biden administration stack up in terms of competence, major issues, and scandals in comparison with other administrations historically. And I'd say they are doing a pretty damn good job. Unless you believe that Hunter Biden has corrupted Joe Biden, his administration has been pretty scandal free, as seen by the Republican failure to find anything even close to a reason to impeach him, not that they haven't tried.

So, is this bad, yes. Is it unique, is it a sign of the collapse or decadence of American government? No, not until you are going to judge every other administration in history by the same standard. And if you do, I think you'll find that the Biden administration looks pretty good.

[hepcat]

I gotta agree with what others here are saying. I’m not seeing this as a “the sky is falling” moment. It’s barely a “it’s raining” moment in my opinion.

[Kurth]

I gotta agree with what others here are saying. I’m not seeing this as a “the sky is falling” moment. It’s barely a “it’s raining” moment in my opinion.

Same. The poor guy is getting his prostate worked on. I can understand he maybe wanted to keep that on the down low. Terrible judgment on his part and on the part of those around him who surely knew but didn’t go through the proper process to keep the White House informed, but it’s far from outrageous conduct, especially these days.

[malchior]

Every administration has problems. People are human, if you are expecting a President who doesn't have any issues arise during his time in office, well you are going to wait a long long time. Yes, this was wrong, and the onus falls entirely on Austin, because he was the one calling the shots on his medical condition, medical issues are subject to a lot of privacy by law, and if he doesn't tell anyone what is going on, then it's on him 100%. A lot of what we are learning, from what I have heard, we are learning only a few hours after Biden has found out. That's how much Austin kept everyone in the dark, even his own people. Now we will learn from this and rules will be put into place going forward.

I mostly agree up until the last sentence. The idea that we need new rules here are sort of puzzling to me. Not lying to your boss and letting him know where you are and if you are available to perform your duties is just basic...employment duties. He failed at that. For that reason, basic accountability demands that Austin be fired or he resign. Bret Stephens wrote a piece arguing the same tonight and it pains me to agree with him on just about anything. I expect we'll see more on this tomorrow but I expect Austin will eventually have to go.

But to say that the leadership culture is "broken" is just not realistic or even historically accurate. EVERY administration has it's scandals and issues and mistakes, because people are just human, and oftentimes do bad and/or stupid things.

I'll push back on this a bit. This isn't about viewing this in the context of other scandals. Instead I'd challenge someone to find me a single instance where a cabinet member hid something of this magnitude from the President or the public. There are probably minor instances and possibly times we just didn't find out about it. But still at some level there was at some level an effort here to mislead the American people. Describing it as 'elective surgery' which is probably technically true but was meant to downplay the seriousness. That is unacceptable and I'll stand by my statement that this wouldn't have flown anytime in modern history outside the last 10-15 years ago.

He had every right to keep his condition secret - even from the President - and could have done so just being transparent to his boss about pertinent details. He didn't do that. When the situation worsened, he or his staff dissembled, lied, and minimized. As more detail was dragged out, it became clear it was more serious than it appeared. When it became unavoidable to report it, only then did they do so offering up lame excuses about individuals being out with the flu. In the end, there is the appearance and likely truth that they lied and omitted pertinent information. Both from his boss the President and the public. Yet he retains the "full confidence" of the President? What does one have to for him not to have confidence when caught lying? I'm sorry but you can't handwave that away as anything but a massive breach of trust on Austin's part and it makes Biden look credulous.

Of course, we want to minimize this kind of stuff, but no matter how many rules you have, people are sometimes to ignore them, forget about them, misunderstand them, and break them. The better question is how does the Biden administration stack up in terms of competence, major issues, and scandals in comparison with other administrations historically.

This is fair to a degree about the Biden (and also the Obama administration) which were relatively scandal free. I'm however not commenting on that. I'm saying that standards have slipped so far that somehow this has become something to yawn about. At the highest level, the issue is that this was very serious yet the administration is focused on damage control versus showing us that they care about good governance.

And that partially is likely due to the political environment but this is all part of what I'm pointing at as a broken leadership structure. Bad behavior has led to *protection* instead of *accountability* and we've seen this across multiple administrations now.

So, is this bad, yes. Is it unique, is it a sign of the collapse or decadence of American government? No, not until you are going to judge every other administration in history by the same standard. And if you do, I think you'll find that the Biden administration looks pretty good.

I don't agree that the standard is looking at the whole administration. Again in historical context I can't think of an incident anywhere near this. It's great that it is an anomaly but they've failed a test here. Fair or not, Biden is a deeply unpopular President. Things like this? They do nothing but tarnish him.

That said, I again think the situation changes over the next few days and he could salvage some good will here. But that has to come with showing us that they have integrity. Otherwise I expect that the idea that they mislead the public will continue to rage for the foreseeable future. If not, it's just another data point explaining why the American public doesn't have faith or trust in *any* of the branches of government anymore.

[malchior]

I gotta agree with what others here are saying. I’m not seeing this as a “the sky is falling” moment. It’s barely a “it’s raining” moment in my opinion.

Same. The poor guy is getting his prostate worked on. I can understand he maybe wanted to keep that on the down low. Terrible judgment on his part and on the part of those around him who surely knew but didn’t go through the proper process to keep the White House informed, but it’s far from outrageous conduct, especially these days.

Wait. How is it not outrageous for the Secretary of Defense and the Pentagon to lie (either directly or through omission) to the President or the public? I'm not saying he needed to ever disclose his medical condition. However, there was a point they needed to be candid about certain realities and they didn't do so. Then even they lied some more. And only when pressured did the truth come out. That's pretty outrageous behavior even for now IMO.

Anyway, "especially these days" is what I'm pointing at. Standards have clearly slipped. We're boiled frogs. It is not that the sky is falling. The sky has fallen. People can try to groupthink their way into accepting this but I think that in itself is depressing.

[Kraken]

I gotta agree with what others here are saying. I’m not seeing this as a “the sky is falling” moment. It’s barely a “it’s raining” moment in my opinion.

Same. The poor guy is getting his prostate worked on. I can understand he maybe wanted to keep that on the down low. Terrible judgment on his part and on the part of those around him who surely knew but didn’t go through the proper process to keep the White House informed, but it’s far from outrageous conduct, especially these days.

+1. I get that this would have been a big scandal in the Before Times, but it gets a shrug from me. Standards got much lower after someone made America great again.

[Zarathud]

I have worked while in hospital observation with a life-threatening infection, so perhaps that alters my expectations. Questions are being asked. He wasn’t out of commission as much as the stories suggest.

[LordMortis]

I have worked while in hospital observation with a life-threatening infection, so perhaps that alters my expectations. Questions are being asked. He wasn’t out of commission as much as the stories suggest.

I haven't because fuck that noise. But my old boss has. She had employees come to her so she could get get physical paperwork and to do one on ones while she was in the hospital and could keep working. I had to take her ability to remote work from 2 to 11 in the before times when her boss frowned on remote work because butts in seats was a priority. Remote work was meant for traveling workers to accommodate work not to accommodate workers, as F2F work was how work was done and you can't really trust productivity when you can't drop in your people.

[Isgrimnur]

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in critical care after being hospitalized with "emergent bladder issue," Pentagon says

[Isgrimnur]

Biden commutes roughly 1,500 sentences and pardons 39 people in biggest single-day act of clemency

President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic and is pardoning 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. It’s the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history.
...
Biden said he would be taking more steps in the weeks ahead and would continue to review clemency petitions. The second largest single-day act of clemency was by Barack Obama, with 330, shortly before leaving office in 2017.
...
Those pardoned Thursday had been convicted of nonviolent crimes such as drug offenses and turned their lives around, White House lawyers said. They include a woman who led emergency response teams during natural disasters; a church deacon who has worked as an addiction counselor and youth counselor; a doctoral student in molecular biosciences; and a decorated military veteran.

The president had previously issued 122 commutations and 21 other pardons. He’s also broadly pardoned those convicted of use and simple possession of marijuana on federal lands and in the District of Columbia, and pardoned former U.S. service members convicted of violating a now-repealed military ban on consensual gay sex.